Gold Ducat, Michael (Michele) Steno as Doge (1400 -1413)
Mint: Venice
3.48 g (0.995 gold), 19-20 mm (Choice AU or better)
Coppola Collection

Starting in the 13th century, the Republic of Venice minted the Venetian gold ducat, or zecchino. The design of the coin remained unchanged for over 500 years, from its introduction in 1284 to the takeover of Venice by Napoleon in 1797. No other coin design has ever been produced over such a long period of time.

The coin was initially called a “ducat” (ducato), for the ruling Doge (Duke) of Venice, who was prominently depicted on it. It was then called the zecchino, after the Zecca (mint) of Venice, from 1543. when Venice began minting a silver coin also called a ducat.

Obverse: Jesus in a standing position with a halo around his head and 2 columns of stars along the sides of his body.

Reverse: Saint Mark standing as the (prevailing) Duke of Venice kneels before him.

Michael (Michele) Steno (also Michiel Sten in Venetian Language) was born in 1331 and died December 26, 1413. Steno was a Venetian statesman who served as the 63rd Doge of Venice from December 1, 1400 until his death. An old and ill man in his late years, Steno died at 82, and was interred in the Basilica di San Giovanni e Paolo, a traditional burial place of the doges.

1866 Great Britain Young Queen Victoria Gold Sovereign
Mint: Royal Mint, London (die 58)
7.98 g 22c gold, 22.05 mm
Coppola Collection

The 1866 gold sovereign displays the young head portrait of Queen Victoria by William Wyon. The reverse of the coin features the shield design by Jean Baptiste Merlen.

Bactrian Ring with black/brown stone (ca. 1600 CE)
Silver and Gold, 19.4 mm diameter
Carved intaglio stone with Pegasus; bezel 24.1 mm x 20.6 mm x 12.4 mm
26.00 grams weight
Coppola Collection

Bactria was a province of the Persian empire located in modern Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, historically prominent between about 600 BCE and 600 CE. The two-humped camel is called the Bactrian Camel.

signet pressed into wax

Persian Ring with Deep Red Carnelian Stone (ca. 1750 CE)
Silver and Gold, niello inlay, 20.5 mm diameter
Carved intaglio stone with birds and deer; bezel 26.6 mm x 23.00 mm x 9.8 mm
17.00 grams weight
Coppola Collection

Signet pressed into wax:

Taras or Tarentum, in Calabria, Southern Italy (300-280 BCE)
Naked boy on horseback crowning horse with wreath, Taras Anked, Riding on Dolphin with Trident
6.13 g silver AR didrachm, 22 mm
Provenance: Historical Real Treasures (Agustin A Garcia B – ANA R-3120473)
Coppola Collection

Unconfirmed information: “very hard to find; Vlasto 766 (same dies) KO-785”

I cannot find an image of the Vlasto reference. The closest I have found so far is this one, and it is pretty close, so “very hard to find” might well be true.

Tarentum, Calabria AR Didrachm. 281-272 BC. Youth on horseback right raising hand, CY above, AΠOΛΛΩ (“Apollo”) and two amphorae below / Taras riding on dolphin left, holding trident, B to right, TAΡAΣ (“Taras”) below.

Reference: SNG Cop 891var

The ancient Greek colonies spread to Italy, the Mediterranean islands, Syria, Egypt and the Middle East. One of the more successful colonies was one founded by refugees from Sparta on the southern end of the Italian peninsula in about 700 B.C. Named Taras, it flourished for nearly 500 years before it was destroyed by the Romans c. 207 B.C.

A popular story about the founding of the city involves dolphins. In 708 B.C. a group of Spartan refugees, following the instruction of the oracle at Delphi (whose name comes from the word for dolphin, and who is the sacred oracle of Apollo, whose symbol is the dolphin), set sail toward the southern end of the Italian peninsula to found a colony there. It’s said that Phalanthos, the leader of the Spartan colonists, was shipwrecked before reaching land, but was saved by a dolphin that carried him to the shore. The tale echoes the popular Greek myth of Taras, son of Poseidon who was also saved from shipwreck by a dolphin. The city that was founded there was named Taras, in his honor, and the city’s patron was Apollo, thus it was a natural that the symbol of the city would be a boy riding a dolphin.

The colony of Taras was founded at the point that offers the first safe harbor on the Mediterranean after one leaves Greece. This put it in the perfect geographical spot to become a major trading center, and it did. Its position at the very heel of the boot allowed it to control both the outer bay for sea-going vessels, and the inner port, flowing into the river inland further into Italy. Between the need for coin for merchant trading and for paying mercenaries who protected the city from invaders, the city of Taras was one of the most prolific producers of coinage in the middle centuries of the Greek empire.

The figure of a boy riding a dolphin is found on the front of most coins from Taras. The rider on horseback did not appear on the coins of Taras until about 450 B.C. From that period until about 200 B.C. when the city fell to the Romans, there were many different versions of the horseback reverse on various coins in many denominations.

Sempronius Pitio Roman Republic Denarius (minted 148 BCE)
“Sempronia 2” Mint in Rome (scarce issue)
3.3 g silver, 18.0 mm
Sears (1) 91; Crawford 216/1; Syd 402
Provenance: Antiek (Marijn Kruijff)
Coppola Collection

Rarity 95/100

The  Sempronia was a Roman family of great antiquity. It included both patrician and plebeian branches. The first of the Sempronii to obtain the consulship was Aulus Sempronius Atratinus in 497 BC, the twelfth year of the Republic. The patrician Sempronii frequently obtained the highest offices of the state in the early centuries of the Republic, but they were eclipsed by the plebeian families at the end of the fourth century BC. The glory of the Sempronia family is confined to the Republican period. Very few persons of this name, and none of them of any importance, are mentioned under the Empire.

This coin marks the fundamental change in the denarius, with the mark of value being moved in front of the helmeted head of Roma (mark X below chin) replaced by the moneyers cognomen (“Pitio”) running counterclockwise.

Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux) on horseback galloping right, each holding horizontal spear. Part of moneyer mark in field below horses with MP ligatured. “L • SEMP” for Lucius Sempronius

Chihongo (Spirit of Wealth) Chokwe Tribal Mask (Angola)
Late 19th/early 20th century
Wood, 15.0 x 13.5 x 7.5 in
Coppola Collection

Gaunt features, sunken cheeks, and jutting beard of an elder characterize a chihongo mask. Chihongo was formerly worn only by a chief or by one of his sons as they traveled through their realm exacting tribute in exchange for the protection that the spirit masks gave. The eyes closed to narrow slits evoke those of a deceased person.

Found amongst the Chokwe of Angola, these masculine masks (Chihongo, meaning ‘spirit of wealth’) are used to symbolize wealth and power. The masqueraders wearing the mask pay homage to male ancestors believed to be responsible for the prosperity and strength of the community. Traditionally used to represent the male chief ancestor Chihongo, the masks were once only reserved for use by chieftaincy during royal events such as the initiation of a new chief.

Today, men of the community wear these masks for entertainment purposes, during masquerade celebrations (danced together with the female counterpart, MwanaPwo) to bring fertility, peace, wealth and wellbeing to the village.

Distinguishing Features of Chihongo masks:
Made of wood
Gaunt, angular features
Prominent arched eyebrows
High forehead
Protruding ears are usually curved or semi-circular with the tragus depicted
Eyes placed in large, concave sockets
• Usually almond-shaped
• Usually half-closed slits
• Swollen eyelids prolonged down to centre of concave eye-sockets
Sunken cheeks
Sharply defined broad mouth
• Usually the full width of mask
• Partially open
• Protruding flattened lips
• Filed triangular teeth
Jutting beard (horizontal disc like projection at chin)
Top of mask is lined with holes for attaching elaborate headgear

Scarification usually engraved, cut away or carved in relief (older masks always depict scarification which was seen as a sign of beauty along with filed teeth). Scarification marks include:

Cingelyengelye: triangular marks on the centre of the forehead representing the Chokwe creator god, Nzambi
Cijingo: circular sun disks carved on the cheeks, denoting a spiral brass bracelet
Mitelumuna: carved on the forehead and extending to the temples, denoting ‘knitted eyebrows’ to show arrogance or dissatisfaction
Masoji: vertical marks carved under the eyes, denoting tears
Kapile: patterns on the chin
Kangongo: deep line down the nose

I have got to find me some feathers. Here is an example of what you do with those holes around the head!

Caesar (minted 49-48 BCE)
Mint: likely a military mint traveling with Caesar in late 49 BCE
4.12 g silver, 21.5 mm
Sear 1399 RSC 49
Provenance: Historical Real Treasures (Agustin A Garcia B – ANA R-3120473)
Coppola Collection

 This was the first coin struck in the name of Julius Caesar.

The Great Roman Civil War (“Caesar’s Civil War”) marks an important transition moment from the Roman Republic (509–27 BCE) to the Roman Empire (27 BCE–CE 476).

The War (49–45 BCE) began as a series of political and military confrontations between Julius Caesar (100–44 BCE) and the conservative, traditionalist factions of the Roman Senate, who were supported by Pompey (106–48 BCE), a contemporary of Caesar, who ended up fleeing to Egypt after the Battle of Pharsalus and getting beheaded upon arrival.

During the Republic, the river Rubiconmarked the boundary between the Roman province of Cisalpine Gaul and Italy proper.

Roman law specified that only elected magistrates could command troops within Italy. Anyone entering Italy at the head of his troops forfeited his imperium (“right to command”). Forbidden by law, exercising imperium was a capital offence. Furthermore, obeying the commands of a general who did not legally possess imperium was a capital offence. Generals were thus obliged to disband their armies before entering Italy.

In 49 BCE (attributed: January 10) C. Julius Caesar led a single legion south over the Rubiconand into Italy to make his way to Rome. In doing so, he (deliberately) broke the law and made conflict inevitable. According to descriptions of the event, Caesar uttered the famous phrase “the die has been cast” upon crossing.

The phrase “crossing the Rubicon” has survived to refer to any individual or group committing itself irrevocably to a risky or revolutionary course of action, similar to the modern phrase “passing the point of no return” or any of the other versions that appear in many languages.

Caesar was later proclaimed dictator, first for ten years and then, only half way through this first term, in 44 BCE, dictator in perpetuity (Dictator perpetuo). This proclamation motivated the end of his reign, and his life, with his assassination on March 15, 44 BCE, the Ides of March. His adopted son, Octavius, fought another civil war against remnants of the Senate, ultimately resulting in the establishment of the Roman Empire.

These coins were minted after Caesar’s invasion of Italy (crossing of the Rubicon) and until he defeated Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalus (ca. 9 August 48 BCE).

Analysts see Caesar’s elephant as trampling a carnyx (a Celtic war trumpet, decked out as a dragon), symbolizing Caesar’s victory over the Celtic tribes of Gaul. The reverse side shows items related to Caesar’s office of Pontifex Maximus, the high priest of Rome (a title now held by the Pope): culullus (cup) or simpulum (ladle), aspergillum (sprinkler), secures (sacrificial ax), and an apex (priest’s hat).

Honorius (minted 395-402 CE)
Mint: Mediolanum (Milan)
4.4g gold, 21 mm
RIC X 1206; Sear 20916
Provenance: James H Cohen (NOLA)
Coppola Collection

“I wonder if the Emperor Honorius, watching the Visigoths coming over the seventh hill, could truly realize that the Roman Empire was about to fall. This is really just another page of history, isn’t it? Will this be the end of our civilization?” (Captain Jean-Luc Picard, to Guinan, anticipating the Borg attack in Star Trek: The Next Generation “The Best of Both Worlds I,” the third season’s finale, broadcast June 18, 1990)

Honorius (Flavius Honorius Augustus; 9 September 384 – 15 August 423 CE) was Western Roman Emperor from 393 to 423 (age 9-39). He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of Arcadius (b. 377), who was the Eastern Emperor from 395 until his death in 408 (age 18-31).

The most notable event of Honorius’s reign was the assault and Sack of Rome on August 24, 410 by the Visigoths under Alaric. Rome had not been attacked in almost 800 years. At that time, Rome was no longer the capital of the Western Roman Empire, having been replaced in that position first by Mediolanum in 286, where this coin was minted, and then by Ravenna in 402, where other versions of the Honorius coin were minted.

Stilicho, Honorius’s principal general, was both Honorius’s guardian (during his childhood) and his father-in-law (after the emperor became an adult). Stilicho’s generalship helped preserve some level of stability, but with his execution in 408, the Western Roman Empire moved closer to collapse.

Rome was under siege by the Visigoths shortly after Stilicho’s deposition and execution. Lacking his strong general to control the by-now mostly barbarian Roman Army, the indecisive Honorius could do little to attack Alaric’s forces directly, and apparently adopted the only strategy he could in the situation: wait passively for the Visigoths to grow weary and spend the time marshaling what forces he could.

Honorius died of edema on 15 August 423, leaving no heir.

The Western Empire fell in 476 CE after the one-year reign of Honorius’s ninth successor, Romulus Augustus. His deposition by Odoacer, a soldier who became the first king of Italy, typically marks the end of ancient Rome and the start of the Dark/Middle Ages.

The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire and Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire in the East, starting from ca. 300 CE, and through the Dark/Middle Ages and the Crusades, when its capital city, Constantinople (Istanbul), fell to the Turks in 1453, following the rise of the Ottoman Empire, which began in 1300.

This is really just another page of history, isn’t it? Will this be the end of our civilization? — turn the page.”

British-found Roman Ring (ca. 20 CE)
Silver, 20 mm diameter x 4.9 mm shank
Red (glass?) stone; bezel 16mm x 12.1 mm
4.98 grams weight
Coppola Collection

This is definitely one of the oldest things I own, outside of some ancient coins, and I get a kick out of wearing it every now and then, knowing that some Roman owned it 2000 years ago.